Mars Exploration Rover

Mars Exploration Rover, either of a pair of U.S. robotic vehicles that explored the surface of Mars beginning in January 2004. The mission of each rover was to study the chemical and physical composition of the surface at various locations in order to help determine whether water had ever existed on the planet and to search for other signs that the planet might have supported some form of life.

Artist’s conception of Mars Exploration Rover.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, were launched on June 10 and July 7, 2003, respectively. Spirit touched down in Gusev crater on Jan. 3, 2004. Three weeks later, on January 24, Opportunity landed in a crater on the equatorial plain called Meridiani Planum on the opposite side of the planet. Both six-wheeled 18-kg (40-pound) rovers were equipped with cameras and a suite of instruments that included a microscopic imager, a rock-grinding tool, and infrared, gamma-ray, and alpha-particle spectrometers that analyzed the rocks, soil, and dust around their landing sites.

The landing sites had been chosen because they appeared to have been affected by water in Mars’s past. Both rovers found evidence of past water; perhaps the most dramatic was the discovery by Opportunity of rocks that appeared to have been laid down at the shoreline of an ancient body of salty water.

Each rover was designed for a nominal 90-day mission but functioned so well that operations were extended several times. NASA finally decided to continue operating the two landers until they failed to respond to commands from Earth. In August 2005, Spirit reached the summit of Husband Hill, 82 metres (269 feet) above the Gusev crater plain. Spirit and Opportunity continued to work even after a significant Martian dust storm in 2007 coated their solar cells. Opportunity entered Victoria crater, an impact crater roughly 800 metres (2,600 feet) in diameter and 70 metres (230 feet) deep, on Sept. 11, 2007, on the riskiest trek yet for either of the rovers. On Aug. 28, 2008, Opportunity emerged from Victoria crater and set off on a 12-km (7-mile) journey to the much larger (22 km [14 miles] in diameter) Endeavour crater.

The promontory called “Cape Verde” on the rim of Victoria crater as seen by …

In May 2009 Spirit became stuck in soft, sandy soil; its wheels were unable to gain any traction. Scientists on Earth strove for months to free the rover, sending it commands to move in various directions, but without success, and in January 2010 NASA decided that Spirit would work from then on as a stationary lander. The rover had traveled more than 7.7 km (4.8 miles) in its mobile lifetime. On March 22, 2010, Spirit ceased transmitting to Earth, and NASA considered it to be dead. By that time its twin, Opportunity, had driven more than 20 km (12.4 miles).

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Also launched in mid-2003 was the U.S. Mars Exploration Rover mission, which comprised twin robotic landers, Spirit and Opportunity. Spirit touched down in Gusev Crater (15° S, 175° E) on Jan. 3, 2004. Three weeks later, on January 24, Opportunity landed in Meridiani Planum (2° S, 6° W), on the opposite side of the planet. The six-wheeled rovers, each equipped with cameras and a...

The twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, were launched on June 10 and July 7, 2003, respectively. Spirit touched down in Gusev crater on Jan. 3, 2004. Three weeks later, on January 24, Opportunity landed in a crater on the equatorial plain called Meridiani Planum on the opposite side of the planet. Both six-wheeled 18-kg (40-pound) rovers were equipped with cameras and a suite of instruments...

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The Mars Exploration Rovers were robotic vehicles that explored the surface of Mars. The mission of each rover was to help scientists figure out whether water had ever existed on the planet. The rovers also searched for other signs that the planet might have supported some form of life.

A pair of U.S. robotic vehicles both known individually as the Mars Exploration Rover explored the surface of Mars beginning in January 2004. The mission of each rover was to study the chemical and physical composition of the surface at various locations in order to help determine whether water had ever existed on the planet and to search for other signs that the planet might have supported some form of life.